–G to I–

Garner, Israel, Private Company A

Little is known of Private Garner. He was born September 8, 1838. He was surrendered at Citronell and paroled at Meridian in May 1865. He died on December 23, 1908. He is buried in Bloomingdale Community Cemetery, Hillsborough County, FL.

Green, John C., Private Company B

Private Green was born on August 28, 1845. At age 18, John joined the 38th Alabama at Lower Peach Tree on March 29, 1862, He fought with the 38th Ala. Infantry at Chickamauga, Lookout Mt., Missionary Ridge, Dalton, Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Cassville, New Hope Church and Atlanta,GA. He was shot and captured on July 22, 1864, at Atlanta and sent to Camp Chase Prison at Columbus, Ohio. He died on February 26, 1917 and is buried in Gates Cemetery in Clark County, AL. His descendent bears an uncanny resemblance to Private John.

Henley W. J. Hammer 2nd Lieutenant, Company F

Promoted from Corporal. Killed July 21. 1864.

John A. Hare Private, Company B

There is no biographical information for this veteran. If you have any information, please contact us.

Hearin, William Jefferson, Lt. Colonel, 38th Alabama

William J. Hearin was the eldest son of Robert C. and Nancy Mayfield Hearin. He was born on January 10, 1823 and raised on the family plantation in Clarke County, Alabama. Upon the death of his father in 1840, young William assumed responsibility for the care of the family plantation and it's residents The Hearin family, with the help of slave labor, grew cotton as their main source of income. He married Susannah Gliddon on April 9, 1846 and they had four children.

Upon the outbreak of The American Civil War, William enlisted in the 38th Alabama Voluntary Infantry. He was elected Captain of Company "A", later promoted to Major and eventually Lt. Colonel. Company "A" consisted primarily of men from Clarke County. He was with the 38th at the battle of Missionary Ridge outside of Chattanooga Tn. where he was captured. He was sent to the union prisoner of war camp at Johnson Island and later exchanged. Upon release from Johnson Island, William was promoted to Lt. Colonel, a rank which he held until the war's end. He applied for and was granted a Presidential Pardon in 1865Following the war, amidst the difficulty of making a large plantation profitable, he removed to Mobile, Alabama where he began a very successful career as a prominent Mobile business man. He was President of The Mobile Savings Bank as well as a principle in Stonewall Insurance Company and William J. Harris & Company whose primary purpose was the buying and selling of the reemerging cotton crop. He served two terms in the Alabama State Legislature and as chairman of the "Old City Board" for the city of Mobile.

Colonel Hearin died on July 20, 1898 and is buried in the family plot at Magnolia Cemetery in Mobile, AL.

Biography of Lt. Col. Hearin by Art Green:William J. Hearin was born January 10, 1824, and died July 20, 1898. He is buried in Magnolia Cemetery, Mobile, AL. He lived in Clarke County, Alabama, just east of Gosport, AL. His home still stands as of 2013. Lt. Colonel William Jefferson Hearin enlisted in the Confederate Army as captain of Company A, 38th Alabama Infantry. He was appointed major by General Braxton Bragg on November 21, 1863, but held rank from September 20, 1863. Most of his men of Company A were from nearby Suggsville, Alabama. Hearin told of his capture at Missionary Ridge and afterward told of selling his sidearm to a Yankee soldier for $5 and purchasing two blankets which he shared with his fellow 38th Alabama officer, Capt. John Jackson. Later in prison he sat with Jackson as Jackson died and used the blanket as a shroud for Jackson’s body. He described the prison barracks and gave a count of prisoners with rank. Once he told of a great snowball battle.Hearin corresponded with business associates in the north and requested assistance. They responded with an outpouring of dollars, food and miscellaneous items for his bleak prison existence. He requested and obtained gray cloth and had a suit of clothing made. Later he requested and received additional material for a fellow officer’s [Captain Lankford] suit. He sent letters of condolence to his soldiers’ families. He graciously shared, by mail, his borrowed dollars with his Company A men confined in Rock Island Prison. Of course, he wrote regularly to his “Dear Wife.” He was a meticulous man and kept records of correspondence, banking and weather. The prisoners anxiously awaited the mail, especially what they call the “Dixie mail,” which was sometimes delayed due to the frozen lake. Late in his incarceration they were prohibited from writing or receiving mail except for two days per week. He wrote cryptically “in starch”? a few times, once to his wife, Susannah. In the second diary there are a number of apparently dictated letters for him to write for other prisoners as he was leaving on exchange. One officer mentioned that he was black listed and could not receive or send mail. Lt. Colonel Hearin was captured November 25, 1863, and released on January 24, 1865, after one year, two months.After the war Lt. Colonel Hearin moved his family to Mobile and became a successful businessman. He was a commission cotton merchant, president of a bank, principal in Stone Wall Insurance Company, served on the City of Mobile Board and served in the Alabama legislature. His descendant, William J. Hearin, was publisher of the Mobile Press Register for many years.

Also, check out the recently transcribed journals of the Colonel here.

Hodo, W. A. J., Private, Company E

Private Hodo was the husband of Nancy Ardella Hodo Adkisson who was the wife of Pvt. Thomas Hamilton Adkisson, Co E. The Hodo and Adkisson families moved from Conecuh County, Alabama, and made their homes in Erath County, Texas. They were joined there by other 38th families - Pvts. D.J. and John J. Hoskins (Haskins) also from Co E.

Holtzclaw, James Thadeus, Brigadier General

Holtzclaw was born in McDonough, GA, 17 December 1833. He came to Montgomery and read law, declining an appointment to West Point. He passed the bar in 1855 and practiced law until the outbreak of war.Holtzclaw was a part of a militia company, the Montgomery True Blues, and volunteered with that company for service at the capture of the Pensacola Navy Yard. In August 1861, President Jefferson Davis appointed Holtzclaw Major of the 18th Alabama, then Lt. Col. in December. At Shiloh, Holtzclaw was badly wounded standing by the regimental colors, but he rejoined his regiment within about 90 days. He received a colonel's commission dated from Shiloh, and in the autumn of 1862, he was sent to Mobile where he remained in command of a brigade, briefly. Holtzclaw led his regiment at Chickamauga and was injured; his regiment, too, suffered heavy losses. Since General Clayton had been wounded at Chickamauga, Holtzclaw commanded Clayton's Brigade at Lookout Mountain and was able to hold off the Union advance for several hours. In July 1864, Holtzclaw was promoted Brigadier Gen'eral to succeed Clayton, now division commander. He commanded his brigade during General Joseph E. Johnston's retreat to Atlanta and throughout General John Bell Hood's campaign, sometimes acting as rear guards. On 20 January 1865, Holtzclaw was ordered to Mobile and took command of a division consisting of his own and Matthew D. Ector's Texas Brigade, which with Gibson's Brigade and I. W. Patton's artillery, formed the garrison of Spanish Fort until they withdrew, 8 April 1865. In May 1865, General Holtzclaw and his brigade were paroled at Meridian.Following the war, Holtzclaw resumed the practice of law in Montgomery and became a leader in the Democratic Party. He provided service in the state railroad commission prior to his death, 19 July 1893. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Montgomery, AL.

Daniel F. Hyatt

There is no biographical information for this veteran. If you have any information, please contact us.

Irwin, Lee Fearn 2Lt

From Find-a-Grave: Lee Fearn Irwin was the son of Alfred Irwin and Margaret Kilshaw Irwin. He married Mary Elizabeth "Mollie" Brooks on January 18, 1866. This union yielded 9 offspring. Lee was raised in the beautiful Oakleigh Mansion in the Washington square district of Mobile, Alabama. The Irwin family occupied this estate from 1851 until 1916. Lee's older brother, Thomas Kilshaw Irwin inherited the family dwelling and Lee built a stately home on Selma street nearby. Their sister Corrine died as a young adult. Both Irwin brothers served their country gallantly during the American Civil War. Lee served first in the 3rd Alabama Infantry. In January, 1862 he joined the CSA Navy and was commissioned Acting Master's Mate and Pay Clerk. He served aboard the Confederate gun boats CSS Dalmon and CSS Morgan in Mobile Bay. He finished out the war as a 2nd Lt. in the 38th Alabama Infantry. Following the war he was an owner and General Manager of Cherokee Cotton Mills in downtown Mobile as well as serving as Assistant Postmaster for the City of Mobile and Manager of the Mobile Oil Mills. He and his brother "T.K." both prospered as cotton factors and prominent members of the Mobile Business Community and social scene. He died June 26, 1923 and buried in Magnolia Cemetery, Mobile, AL.